Genomic epidemiology and immune escape of SARS-CoV-2 recombinant strains circulating in Botswana.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

We characterized the molecular and mutational landscape of SARS-CoV-2 recombinant strains in Botswana.

Methods

We performed genomic, phylogenetic, and immunoinformatic analyses of 5254 near-complete genomes from 2020 to 2023. We assessed the presence of mutations of interested (MutOI) that may be associated with immune escape in silico.

Results

We observed a few recombinant strains in Botswana, with the majority being descendants of Omicron (XBB*), except for XV and XM. Most recombinant sequences corresponded to transmission clusters. Most recombination events occurred within the receptor-binding domain (RDB) of the spike (S) protein. We identified 16 MutOI among different proteins, with the majority occurring at a very low global prevalence (<4.8 ×

SUBMITTER: Choga WT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11636131 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature